1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bags for disposing of waste, and particularly to a disposable bag with a stand for supporting the bag. The bag has a mouth adapted for being grasped by a support ring which is mounted on a stand having a post for freestanding use on countertops and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The effective disposal of waste material in a sanitary manner is a chronic problem. This is especially true of certain health care or personal hygiene products which are capable of carrying disease through bacteria or germs, or which may have an offensive odor, such as sanitary napkins. The problem is often acute in public restrooms where the waste containers are often open top containers, or which have a single swing door closure which bulges open when the container is filled to capacity. Even in the home, the disposal of such waste may be a problem, as the sanitary napkin is often wrapped in toilet paper, tissues, or the like, and simply dropped into an open top waste basket. The problem is not limited to sanitary napkins, but also encompasses other waste products, such as food, which is subject to biological degradation and which attracts germs, parasites, and other disease carriers. Various devices have been proposed to provide for sanitary disposal of waste products.
U.S. Pat. No. 590,606, issued to Young on Sep. 28, 1897, teaches a bag including a lid held by a support. U.S. Pat. No. 755,085, issued to Viano on Mar. 22, 1904, teaches a frame for holding bags that is ring-shaped. U.S. Pat. No. 960,451, issued to Vicary on Jun. 7, 1910, teaches a ring-shaped bag holder. U.S. Pat. No. 2,528,332, issued to Bergquist on Oct. 31, 1950, teaches a self-closing opening using a plurality of overlapping flaps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,489, issued to Paetzold on Jan. 26, 1982, teaches a bag holder for collapsible bags. U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,904, issued to Iverson on May 11, 1982, teaches a spill-proof container including a plurality of resilient overlapping flaps in its opening. U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,924, issued to Christensen on Apr. 5, 1983, teaches a wall-mounted ring-shaped bag holder including a removable lid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,717, issued to Bussard et al. on Dec. 5, 1989, teaches a non-spilling snack container including non-overlapping flaps in a single-piece opening made by cutting a plurality of slits in the opening. U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,546, issued to Imazeki et al. on Apr. 24, 1990, teaches a trash bag including a holder and a disposable bag. U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,751, issued to Larkin on Jun. 4, 1991, teaches a garbage bag and holder including a lid. The bag includes a flange/lip that protrudes radially outward from the opening, and rests on a similarly sized support ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,468, issued to Murdoch et al. on Nov. 23, 1999, teaches a film container including overlapping flaps in the opening.
Various bag and bag holder combinations are taught in the prior art; however, there is a need for a disposable bag having an attached lid and an additional self-closing opening that can be easily mounted onto or removed from a corresponding support.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a disposable bag with a bag stand solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention is directed to a disposable bag with an attached lid and a corresponding support stand. More particularly, the support has a two-part ring for supporting the bag. The opening of the bag includes an outwardly projecting flange spaced from the opening and having a size similar to the ring that permits the bag to rest on the ring and be clamped in place by the ring. In addition, a second outwardly projecting flange near the opening provides an edge to snap the lid firmly onto the bag, thereby sealing the bag for disposal.
The disposable bag of the present invention also features a plurality of overlapping leaves projecting inwardly in the mouth of the bag. This construction permits a waste article to be dropped into the bag, and the leaves immediately resume their position covering the opening of the bag. In this way, unsanitary waste is covered until the bag is full and ready for disposal, both restricting the passage of airborne disease carriers, and ameliorating the problem of offensive odor.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a disposable bag with stand having a lid attached to the bag and a corresponding support stand for holding the bag.
It is another object of the invention to provide a disposable bag with stand wherein the support includes a support ring and the bag includes an outwardly projecting flange having a size corresponding to the size of the ring so that the bag can be supported by the flange resting on the ring.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a disposable bag with stand which having a support ring which has two interconnecting parts so that the ring can clamp onto the bag near a flange about the mouth of the bag in order to hold the bag firmly onto the support.
It is another object of the invention to provide a disposable bag with stand in which the bag includes an additional flange near the opening to permit the lid to close the bag, thereby sealing the bag opening for disposal.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.